DEBATE SUSTAINABILITY
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
A TRICKY BALANCING ACT
As dark clouds continue to grow over the economy, we brought our panel to the Blackpool offices of energy company Trident Utilities with the support of Boost Business Lancashire, to discuss business sustainability and how companies can fight their short-term battles without losing sight of their longer-term strategy
PRESENT:
Richard Slater - Lancashire Business View (chair) Purves Ali - Boost Business Lancashire Chris Brown - Brown & Co Accountants
Sue Denver – Boost Business Lancashire
Businesses still have long-term strategies, but they’re reviewing them. Where they would look at a three-year plan, they are perhaps bringing that down to 12 months and some are even looking at a six-month plan.
It is all around finance and the financial state of the business. I’ve one client reviewing the premises that they’re in, the rent they are paying and if can they get a better deal. Can they move into a big premises, pay less rent and be able to rent out some space? Clients are looking at their plans and other ways they can grow and for some that might be ways they can diversify.
One of our first questions used to be, ‘What is your biggest challenge today?’ along with, ‘Where do you want to be in three years’ time?’ That’s changed. It’s now, ‘What’s your immediate challenge?’ and, ‘Where do you want to be in six to 12 months’ time?’ A lot of that is around finance.
For businesses, it is about having that sounding board, that critical friend or someone sitting on your shoulder asking, ‘Do you really want to do that? What about this? What about that?’ and making you accountable.
That’s what the Boost programme provides. We’ve got the mentoring programme. And the bigger, scaling businesses can access Boost Bespoke and that is where they get the coach, the critical friend.
That someone sitting at your shoulder is really important, but a lot of businesses don’t know that it is there for them. We just need to have that conversation.
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
Sue Denver - Boost Business Lancashire Michael Dugdale - Trident Utilities Darren Grantham -
Nybble.co.uk
Adam Holden - UCLan David Lavery - EVC Group James Sandwell - The Fun Experts
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